Clothes have always been to some extent a form of art and design, combining both color and functionality. Functionality of clothes is often limited to the design and the inclusion of various materials, and elements, such as pockets and loops, or the like. For the most part, today's clothing typically includes pockets, beltloops, buttons and buttonholes, snaps, etc., and other design elements that increase its functionality.
Generally speaking, the average person will wear a plurality of clothing articles on a daily basis. By utilizing the principles of functionality in the fabrication of textile fabrics, and more particularly clothing fabricated from these textile fabrics, increased potential can be found in everyday garments. More particularly, by integrating electronic components and functional fibers into textile fabrics, such as through the inclusion of metallic threads, holographic optical fibers, electronic sensors, sensing fibers, heating and cooling bands, or the like, clothes can be fabricated which are both user friendly in allowing the wearer to sense their environmental surroundings, sense and thus monitor biomedical data, and control their personal environment.
Current methods of monitoring and controlling environmental changes and biomedical information require dependency upon the attachment and connection of external devices. Typically, in monitoring biomedical information such as body temperature, blood glucose levels, body fluid levels, or the like, the individual from which this monitoring is sought, would need to be "hooked up" to an external device, or monitor. Under most circumstances this requires the external attachment of a monitoring device and thus the bulkiness and responsibility of carrying the device with the individual while the monitoring takes place.
In many instances, it would be beneficial to monitor and control the environment immediately surrounding an individual. Currently, such individual monitoring is not commonplace. By enabling an individual to monitor his immediate surrounding, adjustments can be made with regard to temperature of the surrounding air, and thus ultimately body temperature, through the heating or cooling of the person.
Thus, it would be highly desirable to provide for a textile fabric that when fabricated into a wearable article of clothing or other functional design, provides for increased functionality of the woven material and thus the clothing made thereof.
Accordingly, a textile fabric and article of clothing fabricated thereof, that integrates any combination of a plurality of electronic sensors or sensing fiber, a plurality of electrically conductive fibers, and a plurality of holographic optical fibers, would be highly desirable.
It is a purpose of the present invention to provide for a new and improved textile fabric, including any combination of a plurality of electronic sensors or sensing fibers, a plurality of electrically conductive fibers, a plurality of holographic optical fibers and at least one electronic component, that provides for increased functionality when fabricated into an article of clothing.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide for a textile fabric that allows for the fabrication of an article of clothing from the textile fabric in which the wearer is able to sense and monitor biomedical information, sense and control his personal environment or sense the environment immediately surrounding the wearer.
It is yet another purpose of the present invention to provide for a new and improved textile fabric and article of clothing including any combination of a plurality of electronic sensors or sensing fibers, a plurality of electrically conductive fibers, a plurality of holographic optical fibers and at least one electronic component, that provides for the monitor, control, receipt, transmission and ultimate display of informative information.